To the Right Honourable Lady Charlotte Gordon
Why, Lady, wilt thou bind thy lovely brow
With the dread semblance of that warlike helm,
That nodding plume, and wreathe of various glow,
That graced the chiefs of Scotia’s ancient realm?
Thou know’st that virtue is of power the source,
And all her magic to thy eyes is given;
We own their empire, while we feel their force,
Beaming with the benignity of heaven.
The plumy helmet, and the martial mien,
Might dignify Minerva’s awful charms;
But more resistless far th’ Idalian queen -
Smiles, graces, gentleness, her only arms.
